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With League of Legends Season Two culminating at USC in Los Angeles, the world of eSports continues to grow. The success of LoL and Starcraft II has opened up new opportunities for entrepreneurs and new companies. Once such company is vVv Gaming. Rob Thompson, vice president of operations at vVv Gaming, explains how the experience initiative program will help usher in the next generation of pro gamers in this exclusive interview.

What's your eSports background?

My first involvement with eSports was on console in late 2006, I competed professionally in Gears of War and Call of Duty for three years with vVv Gaming. When I began college I didn’t have the time to dedicate to competing, but using my experiences as a player I began blogging about the fundamentals of competitive gaming with the goal of educating young potential competitors. Based on that experience I was offered a position as Marketing Manager for vVv and a year later, after our former president, Jerry “LordJerith” Prochazka stepped down to join the leadership team at Riot Games, I’m now the VP of Operations. I am also currently working as a Support Supervisor for Major League Gaming’s (MLG) events, including chat moderation, help desk and call center customer support.

What's vVv Gaming all about?

vVv Gaming is built on a community model, including professional and amateur gamers, passionate, non-competitive players and fans of eSports, and a dedicated staff. Our teams have competed in almost 20 titles, from League of Legends to FIFA 12, but one thing that separates us from other organizations is that we rarely pursue and bid on top talent. We believe that our role in eSports is to identify talent early and help it to develop, an essential part of the growth and success of competitive gaming. Not only do we do this for competitive players, but if you're an aspiring eSports commentator, player, coach, content provider, or want to work somewhere in the competitive gaming industry, then vVv Gaming is the place for you! We help you gain skills for eSports, skills for life. Anyone can join, regardless of skill or experience, what we look for is passion and the desire to contribute.

Why did you launch this project?

We’ve always been an organization that develops aspiring talent in eSports. It’s a part of the culture of the organization that gives people theopportunity to improve. We had never formally structured it, but with the recent success of our Aspire Learning Consortium for Starcraft 2 and the big announcement from Riot Games for Season 3, we wanted to create a more specific way for players and teams to work towards a professional level of competition, or for eager gamers to gain skills they could utilize in the professional space.

This project means a lot to me personally. I joined vVv in 2007 and have quite literally grown up in the organization. My time in the community as both a player and staff member, has given me amazing opportunities to work with organizations such as Major League Gaming and the World Cyber Games. Even more importantly, it has prepared me for the real world and has given me the skills, tools and knowledge to pursue a career I’m passionate about. This program gives me the chance to create similar stories and opportunities for other passionate gamers.

How are you working with pro-gamers?

Our main focus right now is to provide guidance and feedback to our applicants and sponsored players. For Example, we’re working with TSM TheOddOne’s younger brother and his team to help them develop their social media presence, content production, practice efficiency, community involvement, professionalism, and marketing. This process also includes teaching them about vVv’s culture and history, how the eSports ecosystem works and what they can expect from us based on their ability to meet our benchmarks.

What role do you see it playing in the growing eSports space?

We truly believe that amateurs and aspiring professionals are the lifeblood of competitive gaming. eSports only works if there are teams and players that have a desire to be the best and compete at the highest level. Our role in the space right now is to give those players the opportunity to learn what they’ll need to achieve their goals. With more eyes on eSports than ever before, we want to give passionate gamers the opportunity and tools necessary to pursue a career in pro-gaming.